PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Trading Up 0.9% – Still a Buy?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s stock price shot up 0.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $87.55 and last traded at $86.98. 1,357,752 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 3,685,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PYPL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of PayPal from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on PayPal from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on PayPal from $92.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on PayPal from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on PayPal from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.42.

PayPal Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.13. PayPal had a return on equity of 23.44% and a net margin of 14.08%. The company had revenue of $7.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PayPal Holdings, Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PYPL. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in PayPal by 7.4% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of PayPal by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 2,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of PayPal by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc now owns 4,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of PayPal by 50.6% in the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 497 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a technology platform that enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. It operates a two-sided network at scale that connects merchants and consumers that enables its customers to connect, transact, and send and receive payments through online and in person, as well as transfer and withdraw funds using various funding sources, such as bank accounts, PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products comprising its installment products, credit and debit cards, and cryptocurrencies, as well as other stored value products, including gift cards and eligible rewards.